Chapter 969: The Fool's Dream Race... Witchification? Fool's Dream Witches?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 969: The Fool's Dream Race... Witchification? Fool's Dream Witches?
After bidding farewell to the Nightmare Workshop, I headed straight for the Primitive Dream Laboratory.
The main reason was that Sister Bai had already gone to see the Fool's Dream. Whenever I was busy, she would visit them to chat and tell them stories.
By the time I arrived, the witch maintaining the Primitive Dream Realm in the lab had been switched to Long.
Muli and Fanny were still there as well. According to Long, they were quite welcome in the lab now.
Since the work involved the power of the Dream Domain, the three of them intended to dabble in the Great Soul Subject. Muli and Fanny, in particular, were extremely enthusiastic. Because they possessed Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, this experiment in the Dream Domain helped broaden their horizons regarding how that talent could be applied to the soul.
Long was no exception. Although she didn't have Self-Awakened Body Cultivation, she had followed my guidance onto the path of Emotion Body Cultivation and was already beginning to grasp the fundamental knacks of the discipline.
It seemed she wanted to follow my lead and attempt to spread this system of Emotion Body Cultivation as well. She even asked if I would mind, to which I naturally replied that I didn't.
I had originally planned to exchange insights with the three Body Cultivation witches, but I hadn't expected them to be so restless and proactive on their own. It seems a good environment really can make witches spontaneously diligent.
In the end, I simply had a brief exchange with Sister Long regarding the Dream Domain Order and insights into Emotion Body Cultivation before leaving, satisfied.
"Sister Bai~"
As I pushed open the door to the Fool's Dream's Constant Dream incubation room, Sister Bai’s figure came into view.
At that moment, she was holding a collection of fairy tales, reading a story to the Fool's Dream. Perhaps it was just a fleeting illusion, but for a second, Sister Bai seemed to radiate a faint glow of maternal tenderness and affection.
That feeling gradually receded only after she saw me open the door.
"Xiao Han? Are you finished with the business at the Nightmare Workshop?" Sister Bai stood up, looking pleasantly surprised, and walked over to me.
"Mm! More or less. Unless something unexpected happens, I won't need to stay there anymore," I said, my gaze instinctively drifting toward the Fool's Dream.
The Fool's Dream's bodies had basically taken shape now, though their hair hadn't fully grown in yet, and they were significantly smaller than before. I could understand this, though; life is a process of continuous growth. If the Fool's Dream wanted to become true living beings, this process was naturally unavoidable.
"Already worried about the Fool's Dream so soon?" Noticing my gaze flickering toward the Fool's Dream's incubation pods behind her, Sister Bai stepped aside and led me forward.
"The Fool's Dream have developed the beginnings of physical bodies and have started resonating with their five senses. That’s why I’ve been staying by their side to read them stories."
"Really!" I took the storybook from Sister Bai’s hand. While fairy tales were rare in this world, they weren't non-existent.
I stepped forward and softly called out the names of Yulan and the others.
As if in response, their delicate little hands twitched slightly. They couldn't speak yet, nor could they even open their eyes. I could feel the vigorous vitality within them, as well as the steady heartbeat of a living being.
Where does life begin... with the first heartbeat, or the first moment of self-awareness?
It wasn't an easy concept to define, but based on my understanding of life and the answers revealed by the world, the answer was: birth into the world.
When an individual descends upon this world and is recognized by the world as a living being, then it is life.
This was quite counter-intuitive. From a high perspective, living beings always want to bestow complex concepts and definitions upon life. But in reality, life simply originates from gestation.
Whether it is natural gestation or maternal gestation...
Whether it is an existing life or a brand-new one, the recognition of the concept of life requires a concept that acknowledges it as such. Life is simple enough that it can be obtained through gestation; to be recognized by the Void is the ultimate destination of life. There is no need to overcomplicate many of these questions.
Life itself is never complex; what is complex are the methods and processes used to create life and forge a brand-new race. Complex methods, techniques, and processes shape different kinds of life, but life itself... is not complex.
Perhaps I should have realized this long ago.
Life Interpretation.
Doesn't this concept seek the most essential, fundamental, concise, and intuitive explanation of life?
The Soul.
That was the answer provided by the Great Soul Subject.
As for the concept of Primal Life... I looked at the four little ones. Would the concept of "Primal" belong to one of these four? Or was it... something else?
I still knew too little regarding the understanding of Primal Life. Without having seen, understood, or experienced it intuitively, it was difficult to establish a solid concept in my mind based solely on the descriptions of other witches or recorded data.
After noting down all these thoughts, Sister Bai and I spent a long time keeping the Fool's Dream company.
Eventually, the Fool's Dream drifted into a conscious slumber. As they drew closer to the concept of life, their consciousness increasingly needed to enter a state of sleep to facilitate fusion with their physical bodies. Much like human infants, they spent a vast amount of time sleeping to promote physical development.
After ruling out all potential risks, I defined this behavior as a normal occurrence.
When I performed another comprehensive check on the Fool's Dream, I discovered another layer of change in their bodies.
The Fool's Dream were, at their core, dream-state souls. Since the essence of life affects the composition of the body, I had expected their physical forms to change. However, the specific nature of the Fool's Dream's physical transformation was something I hadn't seen in any of the records I'd searched through.
I called it... Dreamification.
This meant that their physical bodies, existing in reality, possessed the potential to carry dream-state souls within the dream realm.
Note: it was only potential. They couldn't achieve what I was describing just yet. If not for the all-encompassing information check provided by my Tree of Great Knowledge, I truly wouldn't have noticed this change.
I had never seen anything like this. Even the Dream Demons among the Abyssal demons I encountered before weren't like this.
After all, Dream Demons were merely experimental products of the Abyssal demons within the Primitive Dream Realm; they weren't even true living beings. Their form of existence was somewhat similar to the original Fool's Dream—essentially entities close to the concept of dream creatures. Their physical bodies and the nominal transformation between reality and dream were essentially a trick.
Their physical bodies could be understood as a fixed talent formed by a preliminary shaping of a racial bloodline concept. This talent was essentially a transcendent effect, similar to a spell effect used to mold a body. It was akin to a summoned creature shaped by a summoning spell, using magical effects to simulate a physical body. They relied on this method to achieve transformation abilities, thereby influencing the final effect between dream and reality.
Furthermore, considering that a large number of Dream Demons were caught up in that Dreamscape Calamity back in the Expansion Realm, it was clear that Dream Demons weren't entities that could recklessly dive into the deep layers of the Primitive Dream Realm. Their potential was limited.
However, the advantage provided by the Dream Demons' preliminary involvement in the shallow Primitive Dream Realm was enough to give any transcendent without corresponding dream-based counters a massive headache.
Returning to the state of the Fool's Dream's bodies—logically, this should have been a normal transformation with a traceable path. The only thing that puzzled me was that I had never seen this specific method of Dreamification before.
I knew that when an ordinary life form accepted the bloodline of an elemental life form, their body could transform into an elemental state. Since I had the ambition to establish a unique category specifically for the Fool's Dream, this Dreamification trait was absolute proof supporting that hypothesis!
Similarly... the emergence of this trait forced me to give the matter my highest attention. It was just that the progress... was too slow.
"Xiao Han, have you thought about how you will view them or where you will settle them once the Fool's Dream all become true living beings?"
Sister Bai asked this as she watched me conduct various examinations with such seriousness. She spoke only after I had taken a moment to rest.
"Becoming true living beings..." I sighed, feeling that it was a goal that seemed both distant and yet within arm's reach.
But after everything changed, how should their identities be arranged? I would still be their Sage Sister, but in what way should I view them?
The concept of freedom was too broad; unlimited freedom was no different from neglect. At this stage, most of them could live in Fool's Village within my soul dream, and in reality, most of them were self-sufficient within the Witch Cat Café.
Once the Fool's Dream became a brand-new race, how would they integrate into life? Would they be limited to the Main World? How would they interact with the Witch race?
With the Fool's Dream in this state... could I really feel at ease letting them wander through the various corners of the Void? The Witch race could afford to do so because of the existence of the Primal Witches. What about the Fool's Dream? I hadn't yet reached the level where I could intimidate the entire Void.
Sister Bai’s question was truly poignant, forcing me to face an issue that required grave consideration.
"I... haven't decided yet," I said, shaking my head.
"It's alright. For something this important, if you had come up with an answer just by patting your head, I would have advised you to think again~" Sister Bai didn't think anything was wrong with my answer. She simply used her actions to tell me that she would always stand behind me.
"Mm, Sister Bai is right. I can't make a hasty decision." As I spoke, I began tidying up the equipment in the lab.
I then categorized the preliminary data and hypotheses regarding "Dreamification" from the Tree of Great Knowledge as high-priority information. Only after that did I arrange for my clone to take over the Fool's Dream's life incubation room.
"Does Sister Bai have any good ideas?" Once I was finished, I looked at her. Sensing that she had something she wanted to ask, I prompted her directly.
"I was still thinking about the Fool's Dream," Sister Bai began. "Xiao Han, have you ever thought about letting the Fool's Dream... well, this is just a suggestion..."
"There's no need to be so cautious, Sister Bai~ Just say it. Problems are raised so we can solve them together, not to damage our relationship." I noticed her slight hesitation, but I was even more curious about what she had thought of that made her feel the suggestion might put me in a difficult position.
"Alright, I'll be blunt then... I was thinking, if you really don't know how to settle the Fool's Dream after they become true living beings, why not have them join the Witch race?"
"Join the Witch race? As a subordinate race?" I asked.
Subordinate races were actually quite common; many transcendent academies in the Main World had them. For example, the Elven races were centered around the Afuhemi Academy; other Elven academies were essentially subordinate races because the Afuhemi Forest Elves were a Transcendent Elven race!
As for the Witch race... I didn't seem to have seen or heard of any subordinate races. If I had to name one... maybe the cats? They were a race that practically grew on the witches' aesthetic preferences. Then there were the servants I had learned about before.
But Sister Bai definitely didn't mean for the Fool's Dream to become my servants.
"No, that's not what I meant." Sister Bai shook her head. "I mean something more thorough... Witchification."
"Witchification... Oh~" Once she said that, I understood why she thought the suggestion might be offensive.
I was dedicated to making the Fool's Dream a brand-new race; turning around and making them a branch of the Witch race felt somewhat inappropriate.
"If that happened, what would they become? Fool's Dream Witches?" I joked.
But the question gave me a new line of thought. If the Fool's Dream became Fool's Dream Witches, would that fall within the scope of the freedom I envisioned for them? If not, could it still be called freedom?
"Perhaps?"
"The question you've raised really is worth researching, Sister Bai," I said candidly.
I continued, "But I've studied Witchification. It's a racial concept transformation that goes deep into the essence of life..."
"So... what do you plan to do, Xiao Han?" Sister Bai asked again. She was truly considering these issues for my sake. "You will be a Transcendent Witch in the future. Although this might be a distant concern, what if some Fool's Dream follow in your footsteps and want to become witches too? How would you handle it? Refuse them, or... uphold the freedom you granted them?"
"I... would naturally uphold the freedom I granted. I won't change my mind on that. But the premise is... that Witchification can actually transform the Fool's Dream into witches. Only then does the question even matter."
"Witchification can't transform the Fool's Dream?!" Sister Bai’s eyes widened instantly at my answer!
It was as if she had heard something unbelievable! In this Void, there had never been a race that couldn't be transformed into witches! Otherwise, why would so many transcendent races in the Void be so wary of the Witch race?
"No... that's just my hypothesis. Because the freedom I granted the Fool's Dream includes the inclusivity of racial branches." I shook my head. "Witches can transform any race into witches, and the Fool's Dream can decide for themselves what race they want to become... It sounds a bit circular. Do you understand what I'm trying to express, Sister Bai?"